Players to expand prize money protest at Wimbledon

Leading tennis players will expand their prize money protest at Wimbledon - despite a 20% increase in this year's pot.

Some players limited pre-tournament media to 15 minutes at the recent French Open, but will go a step further at Wimbledon.

They will not only limit the time they offer at the forthcoming media weekend, but are also planning to restrict post-match appearances to 15 minutes throughout the first week of the Championships, which start on Monday.

The 15-minute limit is meant to symbolise the 15% of revenue which - broadly speaking - the Grand Slams allocate to prize money.

Representatives of the players say the decision was taken "following detailed consultation with players across both tours".

In Paris, women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka cut short her pre-tournament press conference, while players like Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek also followed the 'work to rule' directive.

But Novak Djokovic, who has regularly spoken out on behalf of players' rights, did not take part in the action.

Earlier this month the players welcomed Wimbledon's 20% increase as a "genuine and significant step forward".

The players issued a statement describing the announcement as a "meaningful statement of intent" - while also pointing out it still does not equate to the 16% of tournament revenue they are requesting from all Grand Slams this year.

The total prize fund at this year's championships will be £64.2m, following the largest annual increase in the event's history.

The singles' champions will each take home £3.6m with first-round losers paid £80,000.

But the overall fund is still about £7m short of what the players had been hoping for.

"We don't look at percentages, we don't actually believe that is the right metric," Deborah Jevans, the chair of the All England Club (AELTC), told BBC Sport earlier this month.

"It is one metric that is based purely on revenue and doesn't take into account any costs and we cannot run a business in that way.

"We have expenses - we have spoken about infrastructure and investment in grass court tennis.

"You cannot run a sustainable business, and we have nearly been around for 150 years, just by looking at revenue. That is just plainly wrong."

As well as campaigning for the Slams to link prize money to tournament revenue, players are also asking for contributions to their benefit pool and a greater say in how the events are run.

The players say they have not had a "substantive response" from Wimbledon on these two issues.

The AELTC disputes that, and says it contacted players at the start of the year to propose talks on establishing a player council, which could then discuss the issue of benefits.

The offer was rejected by the players.

Sources at the AELTC have expressed huge surprise at the players’ latest move, but they are not the only organisation involved in the dispute.

The increase in prize money at the French Open was 9.5%, and player representatives say they expect the French Tennis Federation to present proposals on how to narrow the gap between the two sides during the Wimbledon fortnight.

There will also be discussions with executives from the US Tennis Association as they finalise their prize money offer for the US Open, which begins on 30 August.